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Hailed by Oprah as a "warrior woman for our times," reviled by teachers unions as the enemy, Michelle Rhee, outgoing chancellor of Washington DC public schools, has become the controversial face of school reform. She has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, and is currently featured as a hero in the documentary "Waiting for Superman." This is the story of her journey from good-girl daughter of Korean immigrants to tough-minded political game-changer. When Rhee first arrived in Washington, she found a school district that had been so broken for so long, that everyone had long since given up.? The book provides an inside view of the union battles, the school closings, and contentious community politics that have been the subject of intense public interest and debate ? along with a rare look at Rhee's upbringing and life before DC.
The book includes an insert with photos from Rhee's personal and professional life, and an "exit" interview that sheds light on what she's learned and where the future might take her.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
1 An (Asian) American Life.
2 Learn, Teach, Rinse, Repeat.
3 Going National.
4 Welcome to the Nation's Education Superfund Site.
5 Closing Schools.
6 Randi and Michelle.
7 New Hires, New Fires.
8 Up from the Foundations: The Challenge of High School Reform.
9 Rhee's Critics Find a Winning Storyline.
10 The Mayor's Race.
11 Lessons Learned.
12 What's Next?
Notes.
About the Author.
Index.
Dude62
Posted July 28, 2011
Mrs. Rhee entered the job with the sole purpose of turning around a school distict. I admired her no-nonsence approach.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 3, 2011
I stumbled upon this book by chance browsing on my Nook. With no particular knowledge of Michelle Rhee or much interest in school reform, I couldn't stop reading. After finish this book, I also rented the movie "Waiting for Superman". I must say that Rhee is one gutsy lady who has no political or personal agenda, except for a single focus of acting on the behalf of the failing students, with the courage of a matured adult to put things into actions.
Most other people from the union and the political arenas, even some of the teachers and parents were thinking "Me first", "Job first", instead of the "students first". So when Rhee started to rock the boat in DC, everyone couldn't wait to throw her overboard so that they can resume peacefully holding hands and flow down the river of national education disaster.
I have had some pretty lousy teachers who had ruined my interests in math and science even in the engineering college. It was a calculus professor who talked about his ex-wife and dog all day. When I confronted his teaching "style", he stated that with his tenure and his grant income, no one can touch (or remove) him. Don't I wish that there was a Michelle Rhee 20 years ago to get rid of this guy? Still fuming today from that conversation.
Today, my children also have their share of horrific teachers in the 96/98 percentile scoring schools. One can only imagine the type of ineffective teachers in those low scoring schools. As a parent, I still have no way to complain about or get rid of those bad teachers in school. People will often remember the best and the worst teachers, both will have a profound impact on the individual. The mediocre teachers are not memorable at all.
I also have the honor meeting some of the most passionate teachers, who treated their students as their own children, working along side with them day and night, with a profound interest of their future and success. Those amazing teachers never care if they get paid by the hours (which they don't), only what potential they can uncover from the students.
Michelle Rhee is right with her iron-fist approach of a corrupted union-protect system. Please award those teachers who care; fire the ones who don't! Quickly!
The only complaint I have about this book is that there are tons of typo (spacing issues) in the E-book version. Might as well fire the editor, too.
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Posted March 10, 2011
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Posted July 10, 2011
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Overview
The inside story of a maverick reformer with a take-no-prisoners management style
Hailed by Oprah as a "warrior woman for our times," reviled by teachers unions as the enemy, Michelle Rhee, outgoing chancellor of Washington DC public schools, has become the controversial face of school reform. She has appeared on the cover of Time Magazine, and is currently featured as a hero in the documentary "Waiting for Superman." This is the story of her journey from good-girl daughter of...